Positioning tools



Nov. 14, 1961 J. v. CROTTY POSITIONING TOOLS Filed May 12, 1958 I 2 G I W E I w 4. G I I mm m l a Y m w I l a, m Mr w 3 I:

INVENTOR John V CroLfiy United States Patent 3,008,228 POSITIONING TOOLS John V. Crotty, 6805 Standering, Fort Worth, Tex. Filed May 12, 1958, Ser. No. 734,545 4 Claims. (Cl. 29-280) The present invention relates to positioning tools, and more particularly to tools for positioning pin contacts and socket contacts in electrical connector assemblies.

In many instances, modern electrical and electronic equipment assemblies are complex, small, compact, and delicate. In equipment such as that designed for use with military aircraft, for example, numerous pin and socket type terminals must be correctly positioned in receptacle or terminal assemblies where there is little or no working space in the rear of the assemblies. The proper positioning of such contacts without damaging same, and with reasonable economy of installation time, has presented a diflicult problem, for which there has been no satisfactory solution in the prior art of which I am aware.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide improved positioning tools which will obviate the difliculties aforementioned.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved positioning tools which are capable of positioning pin and socket contacts from the front side of a receptacle assembly. 7

Another object of my invention is to provide improved positioning tools which are capable of positioning contacts of the types aforementioned without damaging same.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved positioning tools which are capable of positioning contacts of the type aforementioned, rapidly and with facility.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description taken in accordance with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a socket contact positioning tool in accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the tool of FIG. 1 assembled and partially in section, together with a portion of a typical receptacle or terminal assembly and a socket contact to be positioned;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view partly in section, showing the end portion of the socket contact positioning tool of FIGURES 1 and 2 partially inserted into the interior of a socket contact to be positioned;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view partly in section, showing the end portion of a pin contact positioning tool in accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention, in engagement with a portion of the exterior of a pin contact to be positioned;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the working end of the pin contact positioning tool of FIG. 4, in the clamping position, and;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the working end of the socket contact positioning tool of FIG. 3, in the clamping position.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 6, there is shown a socket contact positioning tool comprising a plunger assembly 11, a barrel assembly 13, a plunger actuator 15, actuator return spring 17, actuator housing 19, and housing cap member 21. The plunger assembly 11 includes the plunger rod 23, the rod expander mandrel 25, and the actuator nipple 27. The plunger rod 23- is simply a long slender small diameter rod, preferably made of stiff metal rod or wire stock. The rod expander mandrel is a frustoconical enlargement integral with the rod outer end portion and coaxial with the rod, with the cone base at the 3,008,228 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 outer end. The rod expander mandrel is made by swaging the end portion of the plunger rod. The actuator nipple 27 is a short externally threaded solid metal cylinder which is fixed to the inner end of the plunger rod 23 and coaxial therewith. The nipple 27 is provided wiht a small hexagonal wrench socket 29 at its outer end for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth. The barrel assembly 13 includes a barrel 31, barrel end expander fingers 33, and a cap screw 35. The barrel 31 is made from small diameter tubular metal stock such that the barrel inside diameter is substantially equal to the plunger rod outside diameter. The outer end portion of the barrel is split on two diameters which are apart, thus providing four expander fingers 33. The cap screw 35 has a hexagonal head 37, a shoulder 39, and an externally threaded portion 41. The barrel 31 is fixed at its inner end to the cap screw head '37 so that it extends outwardly therefrom and coaxially therewith. The cap screw 35 when assembled is provided with an axial bore having substantially the same diameter as the plunger rod 23. The actuator housing 19 is in the form of a metal cylinder having an internally threaded opening 43 at one end for receiving the barrel assembly cap screw 35, and having a central bore 45 larger than said opening, with the central bore being internally threaded at 47 at the end portion opposite the threaded opening 43. The housing 19 is also provided with a pair of diametral slots 49 extending from the open end to points near the other end. The actuator 15 is in the form of a modified wing nut with the wings 51 extending laterally from the central portion 53 and contoured to bear comfortably against the fingers of a human operator. The wing root portions are provided with surfaces 55 adapted for sliding in said actuator housing in diametral slots 49. The actuator internal threads 57 are adapted for receiving the threads of the actuator nipple 27. The actuator return spring 17 is simply a conventional helical wire spring. The housing cap member 21 is a short externally threaded screw having an integral enlarged disc or button type head 59, and is provided with a small central bore 61 for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. The threads 63 of the housing cap member are adapted for cooperation with the internally threaded portion 47 of the actuator housing 19'.

To assemble the socket positioning tool, the plunger rod 23 is inserted in the barrel 31 from the finger end so that it extends slightly beyond the barrel cap screw end, and then the nipple 27 is fixed to the rod end portion. Next the nipple 27 is threaded through the internally threaded opening 43- at the end of the actuator housing 19, followed by the barrel cap screw which is threaded into the opening 43. Then the actuator 15 is inserted in the actuator housing and the plunger rod nipple 27 is threaded into the actuator by means of a wrench 65 which is received by the hexagonal opening 29 in the nipple end. Next, the actuator return spring 17 is inserted in the housing 19 and the cap member 21 is threaded into the housing open end portion 47. The return spring 17 is thus compressed between the actuator 15 and the cap member 21. The plunger rod 23 may then be adjusted to position the mandrel 25 longitudinally with respect to the barrel fingers 33 by inserting the wrench 65 through the cap member bore 61 and into the nipple hexagonal opening 29. Ordinarily, the mandrel .25 will be adjusted so that its end face is substantially flush with the finger ends when the plunger is in the fully retracted position.

In operation, the tool is normally held so that the fore and middle fingers of the human operator bear on respective actuator wings 51 and his thumb on the cap member 21. Then with the actuator 15 in rest position,

the barrel 31 is inserted through the appropriate opening in the terminal assembly housing 67 (see FIG. 2) from the front side thereof. The barrel 31 is then inserted into the socket contact 69 to be positioned and the actuator 15 is retracted to cause the mandrel 25 to expand the fingers 33 to clamp the socket contact interior and then the tool is drawn outward, pulling the socket contact 69 into proper seating position within the terminal assembly housing 67. Then the actuator is released, allowing the mandrel and fingers to return to the rest position, and the tool is withdrawn and ready for the next positioning operation.

Of course it is desirable to be able to position pin contacts in a terminal assembly as well as socket contacts. The pin contact positioning tool is substantially the same as the socket contact positioning tool except that it has a modified plunger and'barrel, as shown by FiGURES 4 and S. In the case of the pin contact positioning tool, the barrel 71 is made larger and is not split at its outer end. The'plunger rod 73 is also made larger, and has a central bore 75 at the outer end for receiving the pin contact 77 to be positioned, and is split at its outer end portion on two diameters 90 apart to make four fingers 79 or segments. The outer end of the rod is flared to form a mandrel 81 similar to that of the socket contact positioning tool. Operation of the pin contact positioning tool is the same as that of the socket contact positioning tool except that in the case of the former, the action of the mandrel on the barrel forces the fingers inwardly when the red is retracted, thus decreasing the bore diameter to cause the mandrel to clamp the pin contact to be positioned.

A typical socket contact positioning tool may have a barrel length of about 6", barrel outside diameter of about A rod diameter of about mandrel end diameter of about and finger length of about A. A typical pin contact positioning tool may have a barrel length of about 3", barrel outside diameter of about 4", rod diameter of about 1/ mandrel end diameter of about mandrel central bore diameter of about ,4 and finger length of about /2". These dimensions are given by way of example only and are not to be taken in a limiting sense.

While the. tools have been described as being made of metal, it is within the scope of the invention to make some or all of the parts from other materials, for example plastics. Also, the cap member may take forms other than that shown, for example, a ball or knob shape.

The foregoing disclosure and the showings made in the drawings are merely illlustrative of the principles of this invention and are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. While I have shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and. modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A tool for positioning small electrical socket contacts in a connector assembly comprising: a slender tubular barrel split a short distance at its outer end to provide a plurality of expandable fingers and having a cap screw fixed at its other end coaxial with said barrel, the cap screw head being in contact with the barrel; an actuator housing in the form of a cylindrical cup having an axial threaded opening in its bottom end for receiving said barrel cap screw, internal threads at the open end for receiving a cap member, and a pair of diametral slots in the housing wall extending from the open end to points near the housing bottom; a plunger in the form of a slender rod sized to fit inside said barrel for reciprocating motion therein, an expander mandrel fixed to the outer end of said plunger, said mandrel having generally frustro-conical shaped and disposed coaxial with said coaxial therewith, and a tool socket in the exposed end of said nipple; an actuator in the form of a modified 'wing nut with the wing portions shaped to bear comfortably against the fingers of a human operator, the wing root portions having surfaces adapted for sliding in said housing diametral slots, the wing nut threaded central opening being adapted for receiving said plunger rod nipple, an actuator return spring compressed in said housing and bearing at one end on said actuator and at the other end on said cap member, and a central axial opening in the cap, member for receiving a tool which may engage the tool socket of said nipple for adjustment of the longitudinal position of said mandrel with respect to said fingers.

2. A tool for positioning small electrical pin contacts in a connector assembly comprising: a tubular barrel having a cap screw fixed at its inner end, and coaxial therewith, the cap screw head being in contact with the barrel; an actuator housing in the form of a cylindrical cup having an axial threaded opening in its bottom end for receiving said barrel cap screw, internal threads at the open end for receiving a cap member, and a pair of diamet-ral slots in the housing wall extending from; the open end to points near the housing bottom; a plunger in the form of a rod sized to fit inside. said; barrel for reciprocating motion therein, a contractor mandrel integral with the outer end of said plunger, said mandrel having generally frustroconical shape and disposed coaxial with said plunger with the large end outward, a coaxial bore in the outer end of; said mandrel, for receiving a plug to be positioned, said mandrel being diametrally split to provide a plurality of contractable fingers, an externally threaded nipple fixed to the inner end of said plunger rod and coaxial therewith, and a tool socket in the exposed end of said nipple; an actuator in; the form of a modified wing nut with the wing portions shaped to bear comfortably against the fingers of a human op rator, the wing root portions having surfaces adapted for sliding in said housing diametral slots, the wing nut threaded ntral p n ng e g ad pt d for re ei said. Plun er rod nipple, an actuator return spring compressed in said housing and bearing at one end on said actuator and at the other end on said cap member, and a central axial opening in thecap member for receiving a tool; which may engage the tool socket of said ipple for adjustment of the longitudinal position of said mandrel with respect to said barrel.

3. A tool for positioning sin-all electrical connector parts in a connector assembly comprising: a tubular barrel having a cap screw fixed at its inner end and coaxial therewith, the cap screw head being incontact with the barrel; an actuator housing in the form of acylindrical cup having an axial threaded opening in its bottom end for receiving said barrel cap screw, internal threads at the open end for receiving a cap member, a pair of diametral slots in the housing wall extending from the open end to points near the housing bottom; a plunger in the form of a rod sized to fit inside said barrel for reciproeating motion therein, a mandrel integral with the outer end of said plunger, said mandrel having generally frustroconical shape and disposed coaxial with said plunger with the large end outward, an externally threaded nipple fixed to the inner end of said plunger rod and coaxial therewith, and a tool socket in the exposed end of said nipple; an actuator in the form of a modified wing nut with the wing portions shaped to bear comfortably against the fingers of a human operator, the wing root portions having surfaces adapted for sliding in said housing diametral slots, the wing nut threaded central opening .being adapted for receiving said plunger rod nipple, an actuator return spring compressed in said housing and; bearing at one end on said actuator and at the other end on, said cap member, and a central axial opening in the capmemher for receiving a to l hi may enga e-meted o ket of said nipple for adjustment of the longitudinal position of said mandrel with respect to said barrel outer end.

4. A tool for positioning small electrical connector parts in a connector assembly comprising: a tubular b-arrel having a cap screw fixed at its inner end and coaxial therewith, a cap screw head integral with said cap screw and in contact with the barrel; an actuator housing in the form of a cylindrical cup having an axial threaded opening in its bottom end for receiving said barrel cap screw, a cap member, internal threads at the open end of said housing for receiving said cap member, and a pair of diametral slots in the housing wall extending from the open end to points near the housing bottoms; a plunger in the form of a rod sized to fit inside said barrel for reciprocating motion therein; a mandrel integral with the outer end of said plunger, said mandrel having a generally frustro-conical shape and disposed coaxial with said plunger with the large end outward, an externally threaded nipple fixed to the inner end of said plunger rod and coaxial therewith; an actuator in the form of a modified 2 wing nut with the wing portions shaped to bear comfomtably against the fingers of a human operator, the wing root portions having surfaces adapted for sliding in said housing diametral slots, the wing nut threaded central opening being adapted for receiving said plunger rod nipple, and an actuator return spring compressed in said housing and bearing at one end on said actuator and at the other end on said cap member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,466,992 Craum Sept. 4, 1923 1,927,528 Nilsson Sept. 19, 1933 2,497,633 Shapiro Feb. 14, 1950 2,532,972 Vertin Dec. 5, 1950 2,669,896 Clough Feb. 23, 1954 2,837,813 Anselmo June 10, 1958 OTHER REFERENCES Super (German printed application), B23331 I-b/ 87a, June 28, 1956. 

